i had never even heard of NUMMI before i listened to this podcast. it was a failed joint venture between GM and toyota began in 1984, the final car at NUMMI just rolled off the line last week.
the idea was toyota would try to teach GM how to make a small, reliable car. for toyota, they needed to learn how to build cars in america- the government had began to threaten car imports from japan. why it failed? take an hour and listen
:tup: to NUMMI. My wife bought a 20k mile used Geo Prizm for $2k less than similar Corollas and they were made on the same assembly line. The Prizm calipers were even stamped “Toyota”. It was a great way to buy Toyota quality at GM’s accelerated depreciation pricing.
I think that is one of the reasons GM wanted out. I am sure they could have sold the Vibe as a Chevy, but from what I was told the executives at GM were sick of the “I bought a Vibe because it is the only reliable GM vehicle because Toyota built it”. I know dealerships that said they could predict Vibe and Matrix sales just based on current incentives, because in most customers eyes they were interchangeable.
I remember telling people to get the Vibe becuase of the Toyota thing or to buy a Vue back in the day because they had Honda motors.